SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at B. Riley Financial

Key Points

• B. Riley Financial initiated coverage of SmartRent with a “buy” rating and a $1.75 price target, implying 51.52% upside from the prior close. The broader analyst consensus remains “hold,” with a $1.48 target.
• SmartRent shares opened at $1.16, while the company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations on both earnings and revenue. Analysts project a loss of $0.10 per share for the current fiscal year.
• Insiders purchased 267,000 shares worth approximately $378,110 over the past 90 days, while institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.42% of the company.

Research analysts at B. Riley Financial initiated coverage on shares of SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm set a "buy" rating and a $1.75 price target on the stock. B. Riley Financial's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 51.52% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of SmartRent from a "sell (e+)" rating to a "sell (d-)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of SmartRent from $1.40 to $1.20 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1.48.

SmartRent Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE SMRT opened at $1.16 on Tuesday. SmartRent has a 12-month low of $0.91 and a 12-month high of $2.20. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $1.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $1.24. The company has a market cap of $221.31 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -11.55 and a beta of 1.64.

SmartRent (NYSE:SMRT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported ($0.03) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.02) by ($0.01). SmartRent had a negative return on equity of 8.50% and a negative net margin of 12.97%. The business had revenue of $38.39 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $39.62 million. As a group, equities analysts forecast that SmartRent will post -0.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at SmartRent

In other SmartRent news, Director Thomas N. Bohjalian bought 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $1.40 per share, for a total transaction of $56,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 766,062 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,072,486.80. The trade was a 5.51% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Frank Martell acquired 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $1.42 per share, for a total transaction of $142,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 3,672,086 shares in the company, valued at $5,214,362.12. This represents a 2.80% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have bought a total of 267,000 shares of company stock valued at $378,110 in the last ninety days. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On SmartRent

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of SmartRent by 1,900.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,387,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,081,000 after acquiring an additional 5,118,096 shares during the last quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in SmartRent by 163.9% during the 1st quarter. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,032,880 shares of the company's stock worth $7,549,000 after purchasing an additional 3,125,595 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of SmartRent in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,463,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of SmartRent during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,470,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in SmartRent in the 2nd quarter worth about $564,000. 59.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About SmartRent

SmartRent, Inc provides smart-home and property-management technology for rental housing owners, operators and residents. Its platform is designed to help property managers automate operations, improve the resident experience and manage connected devices across multifamily, single-family rental, student housing and other residential communities.

The company's offerings include smart access systems, connected thermostats, sensors, leak detection devices and other Internet of Things hardware, supported by cloud-based software.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.